Calculated Risk
by CassieRose23
Summary: An urgent hostage situation has Team One racing to the University of Toronto. - This is the first short story I've published, leave a review if you enjoyed it, Thanks!
1. Subject

**11:55 a.m.**

Thick straps held the heavy material firm and tight across Anna's chest. She shrugged her shoulders to test the remaining movement just as the last strap across her right shoulder clenched down on her collarbone. The bulletproof vest looked just like the ones you'd see in a TV show, black panels with two wide straps on each side covering her ribs and one over each of her shoulders. By this point the building's hallways were dead, everyone had been corralled back into classrooms and lecture halls or to other buildings. One glance outside and Anna could see the flashing red and blue lights affixed to the tops of three sleek black Suburbans.

"Anna? You don't have to worry about anything; we'll make sure you're safe."

She looked up from her shaking hands and back to the kind, round face of Sargent Greg Parker. He took both of his gloved hands and held hers for a moment before releasing them as he turned back to his team.

"Eddie, what's the status of the students?" Parker asked.

"We've got texts coming in from the kids inside. Everyone's staying clam, but the subject is getting antsy. Boss, we need to get Anna in there," Ed responded quickly.

_Subject?_ How could this be happening? How could _Nathan_ really be the one in there?

"Are you sure you want to talk with him? We think this might help the situation. We've run out of options without pursuing a lethal solution. He's made it clear he won't talk with us." Parker put a hand on Anna's shoulder this time, bending down slightly to make her look him in the eyes.

"Yeah. Yes, I can do this." _I have to do this,_ she thought.


	2. And the Screaming Started

**10:58 a.m.**

Anna flicked her pencil anxiously on her desk. _Shit_, Anna thought. Williams would start lecturing soon and her piece of crap computer couldn't get the notes printed. _Come on!_ The printer icon started bouncing so she impatiently got out of her chair and headed for the isle.

"I'll be right back, I just need to get the notes," Anna said to Emily sitting next to her.

Emily nodded and turned back to organizing her things.

She awkwardly sidestepped over backpacks and jackets until she reached the side isle and jogged up the steps. Once she got to the printer it looked like about 15 other students had the same great idea to print a minute before classes started. _This is going to take forever!_ Not to mention the notes would be hopelessly mixed in with everyone else's. _I'll be lucky if someone doesn't accidentally steal my notes._

Just as Anna pulled her notes from the stack of warm paged she heard a scream, sharp and clear, start and then cut off abruptly. She turned to head back for the classroom when the screaming _really_ started. _What's going on?_

Anna started to jog in the direction of the screams, the same direction as her lecture hall. Just then Emily rounded the corner. Her eyes were huge, her face clammy and pale.

"It's Nathan. _Your_ Nathan. He's in the classroom. And he has a—a gun." Emily got the sentence out between gasps for air as she caught her breath.

Frozen, Anna just stared back at her for a moment. "What? Are you _sure_ it was Nathan? Oh my God. We broke up last night. He was upset about it, but not enough to do something like _this!_"


	3. Hot Call

**11:00 a.m.**

"Team One, hot call. Repeat, Hot call." Winnie announced over the PA system to the officers of the SRU.

"What've we got, Winnie? Any details?" Sargent Parker called as he jogged towards Winnie's desk where the rest of the team had gathered.

"911 came in from a student in a lecture hall at the University of Toronto. There's an armed male youth in the building threatening the students inside. We've gotten about a dozen other calls just like this one." Winnie recited quickly

Parker nodded, "Alright Team One, hot call! Winnie, patch any details you get to me through the headset. Let's keep the peace!"

Four minutes later Team One was en route. Ed Lane and Sargent Greg Parker sat in the lead vehicle racing to the scene.

"Alright, Ed, what are we thinking on this one?" Greg asked.

"First off, it's going to be a containment nightmare. A building that large with thousands of students on campus, not to mention the students the subject has in that lecture hall. As for motivation, maybe disgruntled over a grade? Conflict with a professor?" Ed paused. "We'll find out soon."

"Uni's are already working on clearing out the building— Hold on, it's Winnie." Greg held up a hand.

Winnie spoke through their headsets, "Team One, we have an update: an officer says there's a student, Anna Severson, that knows the subject."

"Great, have the officer get her to us once we're on scene. We're only about a minute away," Greg responded.


	4. On Scene

**11:20 a.m.**

An officer had Anna sitting in an open seat near the entrance of the building. The entire atrium was frantic with commotion but she just sat and stared at her palms open in her lap. Thinking about last night, Anna remembered Nathan's hands squeezing her own and pleading with her, begging her not to leave. But the last time he touched her – the last time she would ever let him touch her again – was when he slapped Anna hard across the face. Just a taste of the temper that convinced her they were over. Anna promised herself that she needed better than him in her life.

But now it seemed more and more likely that her firm rejection led him to this, to be willing to kill innocent people. Maybe if she'd done something differently…

The new flashing of lights caught Anna's attention and brought her back out of her pointless reverie. Seven officers dressed in more military looking gear climbed out of three black SUVs, took several large bags out of their cars, and started walking toward the building where Anna sat.

"Stay right here, Anna." The officer by her said before walking outside to meet the new arrivals.

The police officer reached the group and then gestured in Anna's direction as they all walked hurriedly towards the entrance. It looked like she would get to explain again how she didn't know what was happening or how any of this was possible.

An officer with a round face and a black baseball hat walked straight to where she sat and held out a hand for her to shake.

"Anna Severson? Hi, my name is Sargent Greg Parker. We heard that your boyfriend has a weapon and is holding a group of students in a classroom. Is this right?"

Anna's voice broke, "y-yes, that's right. That's what I was told by my friend anyways, she was still in the lecture hall when he went in, but was able to leave without him noticing. His name is Nathan Billings. I'd just left for a minute to print my notes. Oh my god, if I'd still been in there…" she trailed off and looked down.

Sargent Parker crouched down and looked up at her. "Listen, Anna, we're going to make sure that you're safe, ok? We just need to know what's going on. Did anything happen between the two of you? Can you think of why he would want to do this?"

"Yes." Anna's voice sounded breathless. "I broke up with him last night. My friend, Emily has been begging me to for weeks and I finally did it. Nathan can have a temper; I couldn't handle it any more. But last night…"

"Anna, it's very important that we understand the whole situation here. Has Nathan ever been violent towards you? Has he ever hit you?" Sargent Parker asked.

She just nodded. "And his parents were killed in a car crash last year. I was all he had left."

Sargent Parker stood back up and turned towards his team who were dispersed and speaking with other officers. "Alright team, the subject, Nathan, is Anna's ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him last night. The subject has a history of violence against her, it looks like this time he escalated to using a firearm."


	5. First Contact

**11:25 a.m.**

Parker walked away from Anna. "Winnie, can I get a cell number for Nathan Billings? Let's see if we can make contact here."

"On it!" Winnie responded. "Alright, I have it pulled up, I'll patch it through."

Seven pairs of ears listened as the phone rang.

"Come on, Nathan, come on. Pick up," Parker muttered.

"Hello?" Team One heard a tense voice on the other end answer the phone.

"Nathan, my name is Sargent Gregory Parker. I'm with the Police Strategic Response Unit. Thank you very much for picking up the phone. Can you tell me how everyone is doing in there?"

"Everyone's fine, but that's going to change very fast if I don't get to talk to Anna. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Nathan, I understand. And I want you to know that I take this very seriously, I want to help you here," Parker responded.

"Good. I want Anna. I know she's out there. I want to talk with her or I _swear_ I'll kill a hostage. You know, it's now right what she did to me. She can't just walk away like that, not give me a chance to make things better." Nathan's voice was bitter and flat.

"Nathan, I want to help you here, but I'm afraid that won't be possible just yet. You have to show me that you're willing to work with us here too. How about as a show of good faith you let some of your hostages go, Nathan. Cooperating with me here will make things a lot easier for you."

"You think I'm stupid, don't you? Everyone stays here with me until Anna comes in. That's the deal. You have until noon." Nathan shot back his response and then the line went dead.

Parker paused a brief moment and then spoke into his headset. "Alright team, Nathan's not budging just yet. Let's see if we can get eyes in, we need to know what's going on in there. Spike, Wordy, try looking at the floor plans of the building and see where we might be able to get in, even just with the fiber optic camera. Jules, Lewis, Sam, keep talking with the students that were able to escape and see if you can find anything more about what we're dealing with here."

Ed walked back to where Parker stood. "Boss, what about taking a small team in there with Anna, giving him what he wants. Maybe she can talk to him and get him to release his hostages. It's a calculated risk."

"It could be worth a shot." Sam chimed in over the headset.

"Or sending in a team could spook him and cause him to shoot. Either at us or at a hostage." Parker corrected. "Until he starts cooperating with us, I don't want to move her in there. Let's get an immediate action plan ready just in case the subject becomes active."


	6. Escalation

**11:40 a.m.**

Spike's voice came over the headset. "We've got eyes Boss! We were able to wire the fiber optic camera through the ceiling air vent. It should be coming to you now."

"Good work guys. Let's see how Nathan's doing in there." Parker opened the laptop and watched the feed coming through from inside the lecture hall. Nathan paced from one end of the classroom to the other.

Ed stood next to Parker looking at the screen. "Looks like he has maybe 50 students in there with him. We need to try and get some of them out."

"I'm going to call Nathan again, maybe he'll talk this time." Parker opened his phone and dialed again.

"I told you, you have until noon to get Anna in here!" Nathan yelled over the phone.

Parker countered in a slow and deliberate tone, "Nathan, I want to help you, but I've talked with my superiors and that just won't be possible until you release some of your hostages. Once you do, we can discuss you talking with Anna. Nathan, would you be willing to do that for me?"

"I NEED to talk with Anna!" Nathan roared.

Parker and Ed watched the laptop as Nathan continued pacing. Suddenly he stopped in front of a student who was looking down at something. He dropped the phone to his side, but didn't hang up the phone. Parker and Ed listened closely.

"What is this?" Nathan demanded. He grabbed something out of the girl's hand. "I _told_ you to put your phones on the floor!"

Nathan took the gun out of his back waistband and pointed it briefly at the girl's head before aiming it towards the ceiling and firing a round.

Silence filled Nathan's end of the line.

"Nathan! Nathan, are you still there?" Parker pressed.

"I'm thinking!" Nathan shouted back. "I'll give you half the hostages. I'll let them go, but then Anna comes in here."

"So much for a show of good faith," Ed said. "He's agreed to release half of the hostages, but now we have an active shooter on our hands. He's escalating, Boss."


	7. Precautions

**11:45 a.m.**

Anna caught Sargent Parker's and the other, taller, officer's half of the conversation with Nathan. It sounded like he was giving up some of his hostages. She was grateful. Too much longer and they may have needed to force their way in. Anna didn't know how upset he was until she heard the round being fired. _What if he hit someone?_

Anna stood up, not sure what else to do. Finally it looked like Sargent Parker wasn't on the phone with Nathan anymore; instead he was just talking with the other officer. She walked quickly over to the pair. Her vision was blurry, she hadn't realized it before, but she was crying.

Halfway to the officers Anna changed her mind and direction and headed straight for the doors of the lecture hall. Maybe she could talk with him? Maybe if she was in there, he could just kill her instead of the innocent people he had in there. They had nothing to do with this! This wasn't right. And she could fix it.

Anna picked up her pace to a sprint but only made it a few more feet toward the doors before the taller officer jumped into her path and caught her by the shoulders.

"Anna! Stop! We can't let you go in there," he said firmly.

"Let me go! _Please_, let me go talk to him!" Now the tears were really coming. Anna felt pathetic, crying for this boy, but she couldn't stop herself. She shoved back against the chest of the officer and grabbed at his strong hands holding her, trying to break free from his grasp. He only held her arms tighter.

"Anna, Anna!" Sargent Parker called, walking toward them. "Anna, calm down. Calm down, everything's going to be alright."

"Did he shoot someone? I heard it, what's going on? Please, just let me go talk to him, I know that's what he wants," she pleaded.

"Anna, we can't have you running in there alone, I'm sorry. No, Nathan didn't shoot anyone. He was agitated and shot into the air. Don't worry; we're doing our best to take care of the situation. We want to get him and his hostages out of there safely." Sargent Parker's voice was even and deliberate. "Nathan has agreed to let half of his hostages go on the condition that he gets to talk to you. Do you think you can do that, Anna? I'll go in with you along with Officer Lane here and Officer Braddock to make sure you're safe." He nodded towards Lane, "Ed?"

Lane loosened his grip on Anna's arms, moving one hand to her shoulder and keeping the other near her elbow.

Anna's voice sounded steadier than it did a moment ago. She responded, "Yes, I can do that."

"Ok, good, Anna. Thank you." He addressed the other officer again, "Ed, get her fitted with a vest just in case."


	8. Shots Fired

**11:52 a.m.**

Watching from a distance, Anna saw two crouched SRU officers with their guns raised, aimed at the doors to the lecture hall. Slowly, one door opened and the first of twenty-two hostages she counted ran out into the atrium of the building. Some looked relieved, others were crying, but a few showed no expression at all. Their faces were just blank and emotionless, eyes distant.

"Anna." Lane got her attention back on him. "Anna, we're giving you this vest just as a precaution to make sure you're safe, ok?"

"Yes, sure, I understand."

Lane undid the Velcro straps of the vest before lifting it above her head and setting its weight down on her shoulders. Anna paid attention to his face as he worked to secure each of the straps. His eyes and mouth were stern, but she thought she could tell he was a good man, funny even. She shrugged once, testing how tight it was fitted.

Sargent Parker walked over to Anna again.

"Anna? You don't have to worry about anything; we'll make sure you're safe." There was an edge to his voice, but he sounded confident.

She looked up from her shaking hands and back to the kind, round face of Sargent Greg Parker. He took both of his gloved hands and held hers for a moment before releasing them as he turned back to his team.

"Eddie, what's the status of the students?" Parker asked.

"We've got texts coming in from the kids inside. Everyone's staying clam, but the subject is getting antsy. Boss, we need to get Anna in there," Ed responded quickly.

"Are you sure you want to talk with him? We think this might help the situation. We've run out of options without pursuing a lethal solution. He's made it clear he won't talk with us." Parker put a hand on her shoulder this time, bending down slightly to make her look him in the eyes.

"Yeah. Yes, I can do this." _I have to do this,_ she thought.

"Thank you, Anna. Now just try and focus on the positives and on the future, when you talk to Nathan. Here, take this ear bud." He held out a small cylindrical object in his palm. "If anything happens, I'll be right there talking to you if you need it."  
>She nodded again and took the object from him, fitting it snugly into her ear.<p>

Sargent Parker turned and addressed his team again, "Alright, Ed, you're Sierra One, stay back if you can, let's not spook Nathan. Sam, you're my second, take a shield in just in case."

They moved closer to the entrance of the lecture hall.

A new officer with sandy blond hair and blue eyes walked up to Anna and nodded in greeting. "I'm Officer Sam Braddock, I'll be going in first with the shield. Just stay behind me, ok?"

Anna nodded back to him, "Ok."

Sargent Parker approached the door first, cracking it a bit. "Nathan, it's Sargent Greg Parker. We spoke on the phone. I have Anna with me so she can speak with you, but a few of my officers and I am going to come in with her. We want to make sure everyone stays safe here, alright?"

"Ok, fine. Just come in slowly. If you try anything, I swear I'll kill one of the hostages!" Nathan yelled back.

Sargent Parker gestured for Braddock and Anna to go through the doors.

As they moved in, Anna got her first look at the scene. Nathan stood at the front of the lecture hall with a gun in hand, held at his side. Students filled the first three rows of the room, twisted and staring at the officers and Anna as they entered the room from the back.

Sargent Parker had his hand resting lightly on Anna's back, letting her know he was just behind her.

They crossed maybe a third of the distance to Nathan before he lifted his gun slightly.

"That's close enough!" Nathan warned.

"Alright, Nathan, we're stopping right here," Sargent Parker returned evenly.

"Anna?" Nathan called.

She moved out slightly from behind the shield. "Nathan, I'm right here. I'm right here! Everything's ok."

"How can you say that everything's ok?" He demanded sharply. "After last night? I thought we meant something to you. 'You and me against the world,' remember? I–I just came here today to talk with you. I want to understand, I want _you_ to explain to me what happened."

"Nathan, we weren't going to work, I know I was all you had left after what happened to your parents, but I told you, Nathan! I said that if you ever hit me again that would be it. You crossed that line too many times. You can't blame all of that on stress or grief. You just can't!" Anna had tears in her eyes again. She felt completely idiotic crying right now after what he did.

"You're right. You're right…" Nathan looked down at the black gun in his right hand and slowly brought it up to his head.

"No!" The word caught in Anna's throat.

"Nathan, listen to me!" Sargent Parker called from behind her. "Don't do this Nathan! Please! You can't just end it this way! This _isn't_ the solution!"

"Maybe it is," Nathan muttered back.

Anna had already inched out from behind the shield to talk to Nathan. He was only maybe thirty feet in front of her and she had a clear path to him. Anna made another split second decision. _Nathan needs _me_ right now, not me behind an armed police officer_, Anna thought. If she could just get closer to him… She knew they would try and stop her, so she needed to get around Braddock fast.

Anna started in a sprint past the officer and then slowed once she got closer to Nathan.

"Anna, No!" Sargent Parker called. She heard him speak then into his headset, "Team, Anna just made a break for the subject_._"

"Anna, step away from him. Come back behind me!" Braddock yelled.

She ignored them and kept walking towards Nathan with her hands raised up slightly.

"Nathan, don't do this. _Please_, don't end it like this!" She pleaded with him.

Something changed in his eyes in that moment. The life came back into them, but in the form of anger.

"_You bitch._" He spat the words out and raised the gun again, this time pointing it at Anna. "Where is the line for you, Anna? You think you can just leave me and then act like you care again?"

Anna's ear bud was furious with voices.

"Nathan, drop your weapon or we will have to shoot you!" And then quieter, "Eddie, do you have a shot?" Sargent Parker asked.

"No joy, I repeat, no joy. She's to close," Lane responded.

"Dammit!" Sargent Parker whispered. "Scorpio, Ed!"

"Nathan, no." The words escaped Anna's mouth just as his trembling hand pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying toward her chest.

She heard his gun fire maybe two more times, next to the piercing sound of a second gun firing. The immense pressure of the bullet hitting her vest was enough to send her crumpling to the ground, completely disoriented, and gasping in shallow breaths for air that wouldn't move. Anna felt the black of unconsciousness pulling at her vision, making her ears ring.

Despite the ringing she could make out several voices in her ear bud and in the room around her.

"Team status!" Sargent Parker yelled.

A series of "No harm" after "No harm" came in quick succession.

"Secure the subject! And get Anna out of here!" Sargent Parker ordered.

Anna lay on her back staring up toward the lights of the ceiling, blinking, and trying to get her vision to clear. She rolled her head to the side in time to see Braddock rushing over to her.

"Anna, you're going to be ok. Just breathe! Force the air out and back in or you'll pass out. You're ok, sweetie." His voice was urgent but steady.

As he scooped Anna off the floor—an arm under her knees and another at her shoulders—she tried to follow his instructions, but as she kept gasping shallowly, she felt the blackness pulling her farther down.

"We need EMS! Get them over here!" The voice by her face yelled.


	9. Just Breathe

**12:03 p.m.**

Anna knew Braddock must have carried her out of the lecture hall because she was looking up towards the high ceiling of the atrium as he knelt over her. She heard the sharp tearing noise of the Velcro straps on the vest as he pulled it open. Gently, he lifted her shoulders off the ground and slid the vest the rest of the way off.

"There you go, Anna, just breathe. You're going to be ok," he repeated, keeping a hand on her arm and the other near her waist.

She couldn't respond yet. Each breath took conscious effort to pull in, fighting the pain that came with it. Anna just focused on the blue of his eyes. With his face so close to hers she noticed the light freckles that sprinkled his young face.

"Sam, I need an update on Anna! The subject was fatally wounded and is contained in here." Sargent Parker's voice came through in the ear bud.

"She took two to the vest, probably has a few ribs broken, but the vest stopped them," Braddock responded.

Despite the pain radiating through Anna's chest, she also felt a sharp sting coming from near where his hand rested.

"My – my side," She struggled to gasp out the words.

His eyes did another search across the girl's body. His focus had been where the vest clearly took the two rounds, but just below where the Kevlar had stopped on Anna's torso, deep red was spreading slowly outwards.

Braddock's eyes quickly focused on the wound before his hands flew to the spot where the bullet entered.

"Boss, she took a bullet below the vest, I'm trying to stop the bleeding. We need EMS here _NOW_!" Braddock called out again.

Panicking, Anna started to raise herself up onto her elbows to look at the reddened fabric, still gasping in ragged breaths.

"Lay back, Anna!" He took the back-gloved hand that wasn't firmly pressed to the wound and placed it on her shoulder to carefully, but forcefully, push her back down. "Just breathe and try to relax, we're getting EMS to you soon."

"Ok, thank you. I'm so sorry I went up to him... I just thought he would listen to me."

"It's alright. Here they are, Anna. You're going to be ok." Braddock said to Anna again before turning his attention to the paramedics. "She took one bullet here and two to her vest. I have to get back to my team, send us an update if you can!"


	10. A Good Shot

**12:15 p.m.**

"Boss, the paramedics have Anna; she's being taken to the hospital now." Sam spoke into his headset as he walked back to his team.

Parker's voice turned serious and concerned. "Eddie, how're you doing?"

"I had to shoot to kill, Boss. The subject didn't give me any other choice. I didn't have a clear shot until Anna was already down. He never should have been able to get off so many rounds…" Ed trailed off at the end.

"And how the _hell_ did she get past me? I _had_ her, Boss!" Sam fumed.

"Ed, Sam, we did our best, and that's all we can do. It's what we train for. We all know that each call is different, sometimes we just can't connect even when we do everything right. We'll go over the transcripts back at the barn, Team One."

Sam sighed and then said, "Copy that, Boss."

"I spoke with the paramedics before they left, they said Anna should be fine." Parker turned to Ed and nodded slightly, "Ed, SIU will be expecting you. You have nothing to worry about, it was a good shot."


End file.
